Infra-ordinary Images: Machine Vision’s Ways of Permeating Everyday Life

French cultural critic Georges Perec suggests that people should shift their attention away from the spectacular and extraordinary to the everyday, habitual aspects of life, as these hold the true essence of our experiences. Perec uses the term ‘infra-ordinary’ to describe these unnoticed, routine elements of life that, despite being constructed, feel second nature to us. Over time, what was once new and exciting tends to become part of the background of daily life, taking on an infra-ordinary role. For instance, photography, which was an unprecedented visual medium in the 19th century, grew so common that its mediated nature became less noticeable, leading to the replacement of reality with images, even to the point of total simulation. Similar in certain aspects, today, machine vision through commercial text-to-image generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms is becoming a regular part of our visual culture. These platforms, primarily designed for mass consumer use, often create a misleading perception of a direct relationship between user intentions and AI-generated outputs, decreasing the visibility of algorithmic mediation. This paper explores how machine vision, through visual generative AI, takes on an infra-ordinary role and what we can do to remain attentive to its transformative impact over our experiences.